Demountable shelving



Feb. 22, 1949. o. N. MUELLER DEMOUNTABLE SHELVING Filed May 14, 1946 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Feb. 22, 1949 DEMOUNTABLE SHELVING Otto N. Mueller, Sheffield, Alai; assignor to Reyn-*-- old's'i'l d'le'tals Company, Richmond va a corpo-w ration of. Delaware Application-May.14,?1946, Serial-No.- 669,625

3 Claims.

The present invention relates tosdisplay shelvinggandmore particularly to a combination-stonagecase and display shelvingwhich is especially: w-ell.:adapted for use in displaying articles 'ofmerchandise.

Objects of-this invention are to providea novel display and-storage casenwhereby articles of merchandise maybe pleasingly. displayed and which is attractive'in"appearance; to provide a combined shelving and StorageIstructure which may". bat readily and, conveniently. assembled: if desired alongside of one or more similar structures, whereby the length of display may be increased as desired; and to provide a demountable display shelving structure which is economical to manufacture and which may be made chiefly of glass, metal or similar materials.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is an elevational end view of a display structure embodying the principles of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the shelving structure;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a vertical panel member for supporting the horizontal shelving, and

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view, partly in section, of the shelving structure shown in Figs. 1 to 3 illustrating the combination of two similar units to provide increased display length.

Referring to the drawings, a lower display or storage case C comprises a pair of vertically spaced apart end panels Ill secured together at the front by an upper horizontal strut l2 and a lower horizontal strut I4. The upper strut l2 extends forwardly of the lower strut l4 and both struts, as well as the forward edges of end panels lfl, form a support to which a sloping front panel I6 is secured. A horizontal glass panel I8 is supported by the top edge of the side panels In and upper horizontal strut I2 and forms a cover for the display case C.

A pair of closely spaced reenforcing vertical panels 26 may be disposed within the case approximately midway between the end panels lil so as to engage the upper and lower horizontal struts l2 and it respectively. As shown in Fig. 2 a narrow insert 2| is disposed between the reenforcing panels 20 adjacent to the upper and low-er edges of the latter to provide suitable spacing means between such panels. Fastening means such as bolts 22 may extend through suitable apertures in the panels and inserts to provide rigidity and strength to the structure. A lower edge of a vertical member 24 having a thickness by means of bolts or the like.

substanti lly equal: .tof that of :the inserts 2-2 I disposedbetwe'en ithe reenforcingepanelsl andsexe tend's from-the rear of -the 'caseCLtoIa pointr'adja centto tlie narrow insertfllr- Slots ZSEAocateda bolts22'fand upon tightening'thezlatteitthewertiev cal :m'ember: is rigi'dly SGOHIEditOJthE lease: G Thee: glass top" l 8 may be provided withialsl'oteto pe mit'zit; to fit snugly:aroundithe lvertica vmenu-berg. oratlie latter'zmay-i be :slotted: ati'leastrinfipanthw receives-the hori'zonta asst:piate -iortplatesa on other: shelving: meansz i Vertical end panels 30 of substantially the same thickness, width and height as the vertical member 24 are disposed on the outer sides of the end panels It. The lower edge of each end panel is similarly slotted in size and position as in the lower edge of vertical member 24. If desired, an additional and similar display unit C may be bolted to an end panel by the insertions of bolts through apertures 34 in the cooperating end panels of each unit, thereby rigidly securing vertical panel 30 betweensuch units. Alternatively, the outer surface of end panels In and 30 may be covered with a metal, glass, or plastic panel 36 to provide a more pleasing appearance.

The .vertical panels 24 and 30 are slotted at ,38 i. e., at suitable heights from the front to receive horizontal shelving members 40. A horizontal reenforcing strut 42 may be disposed, if desired, on the lower edge of each slot to assist in supporting each horizontal shelf. As shown in the drawings the front edge of each vertical member may be pleasingly curved as at 44 to give an attractive appearance to the structure. A vertical reenforcing member 46 may be secured to the rear edge of each vertical member to insure strength and rigidity to the entire structure.

Assembly of the combined show case and display shelving of this invention may be accomplished merely by bringing as many units as are desired into juxtaposition with each other and, after placing the vertical shelvingsupports between each unit, fastening such units together The glass top of the case as well as the shelves may then he slid into place. If desired, the entire structure may be quickly disassembled thus permitting maximum flexibility in manufacture, transportation and use; the advantages of the use of such a structure are particularly apparent in crowded stores where display space is at a premium.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the abovedescribed specific embodiment of our invention 3 without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A combination demountable display case and shelving comprising a horizontally disposed case having end panels, spacing members disposed along the lower exterior edge and upper forward edge of each panel, horizontal strut means secured to the upper and lower front edge of each panel for separating said panels, a case cover disposed on and supported by the upper edge of said panels and the upper horizontal strut means, a vertically-extending shelvingsupporting member having substantially the same thickness as said upper spacing member and located rearwardly of the latter on the external side of each end panel, a front panel disposed against said strut members and an edge portion of said lower spacing member, and fastening means for securing said end panels and vertical member in rigid assembly.

2. A combination display case and demount- 4 said recesses and additional fastening means extending through said panels and spacing means for securing said cases and shelf supporting members in rigid assembly, and shelving extending across and supported by each vertical member. 3. A combination display case and shelving as claimed in claim 2, in which each vertical memher is horizontally slotted at a desired height above said case to receive a shelf having a vertically extending slot which interfits with said horizontally positioned slot thereby forming a rigid assembly of said shelving and said supports.

OTTO N. MUELLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 646,129 Rockwell et a1 Mar. 27, 1900 1,089,796 Schafi'ert Mar. 10, 1914 1,754,245 Straayer Apr. 15, 1930 1,805,019 Smiley, Jr. May 12, 1931 1,929,046 Wurslin Oct. 3, 1933 1,959,300 Nicinski May 15, 1934 2,014,516 Beddingfield Sept. 1'7, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 508,850 Germany Oct. 3, 1930 

